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On May 6th the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ("TIGTA" or internal government watchdog over the IRS) issued a scathing report that found, from 2003 through 2013, 1,580 IRS employees committed willful tax violations. These cases included willful overstatement of expenses, claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit without buying a home, and repeated failure to timely file required Federal tax returns.

It should be noted that a willful act is the voluntary intentional violation of a known legal duty (timely filing of a tax return or accurate reporting of a tax obligation). A willful violation of tax law is a criminal act. This means jail time to the average person, but not IRS employees according to the TIGTA report.

Current law requires that the IRS terminate employees who are found to have willfully violated tax law. However, the law also gives the IRS Commissioner the sole authority to mitigate cases to a lesser penalty. The TIGTA report di…

On May 6th the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ("TIGTA" or internal government watchdog over the IRS) issued a scathing report that found, from 2003 through 2013, 1,580 IRS employees committed willful tax violations. These cases included willful overstatement of expenses, claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit without buying a home, and repeated failure to timely file required Federal tax returns.

It should be noted that a willful act is the voluntary intentional violation of a known legal duty (timely filing of a tax return or accurate reporting of a tax obligation). A willful violation of tax law is a criminal act. This means jail time to the average person, but not IRS employees according to the TIGTA report.

Current law requires that the IRS terminate employees who are found to have willfully violated tax law. However, the law also gives the IRS Commissioner the sole authority to mitigate cases to a lesser penalty. The TIGTA report …

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided that it will not move forward with a criminal-contempt prosecution of Lois Lerner, the former head of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division. As many may recall, Lerner had refused to testify before a House Committee investigating the IRS's handling of Republican organizations applying for tax-exempt status. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, dated March 31, the DOJ said it was not pursuing the case because Lerner had not waived her Fifth Amendment privilege by making an opening statement and because she made only general claims of innocence. House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam, R-Ill., said the decision came as no surprise and that he would continue to "investigate all the facts" and hold her accountable for any criminal wrongdoing to which she was a party. "It has long been clear that this administration has no interest in providing accountability for the innocent Americans …

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided that it will not move forward with a criminal-contempt prosecution of Lois Lerner, the former head of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division. As many may recall, Lerner had refused to testify before a House Committee investigating the IRS's handling of Republican organizations applying for tax-exempt status.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, dated March 31, the DOJ said it was not pursuing the case because Lerner had not waived her Fifth Amendment privilege by making an opening statement and because she made only general claims of innocence.
House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam, R-Ill., said the decision came as no surprise and that he would continue to "investigate all the facts" and hold her accountable for any criminal wrongdoing to which she was a party. "It has long been clear that this administration has no interest in providing accountability for the innocent America…

The IRS loves to audit people who claim charitable deductions. The reason is that there are very strict record-keeping rules when it comes to charitable deductions and most people are not aware of them so the IRS usually finds a way to disallow the deduction, which of course triggers increased taxes, penalties and interest. Do not let this happen to you.

Generally, to claim a charitable contribution deduction for gifts of $250 or more in cash or property to charity, donors must get a written acknowledgment from the charity. This is usually not a big deal. For donations of property, the acknowledgment must include, among other things, a description of the items contributed. Typically the place you donate the property gives you a blank receipt. So you need to fill it out and make sure you list all the items donate. You also need to determine the value of the property contributed if it is not cash, which sometimes can cause problems if the amount determined is incorrect.

The IRS loves to audit people who claim charitable
deductions. The reason is that there are very strict record-keeping rules
when it comes to charitable deductions and most people are not aware of them so
the IRS usually finds a way to disallow the deduction, which of
course triggers increased taxes, penalties and interest. Do not let this
happen to you.

Generally, to claim a charitable contribution deduction for gifts of
$250 or more in cash or property to charity, donors must get a written
acknowledgment from the charity. This is usually not a big deal.
For donations of property, the acknowledgment must include, among other things,
a description of the items contributed. Typically the place you donate
the property gives you a blank receipt. So you need to fill it out and
make sure you list all the items donate. You also need to determine the
value of the property contributed if it is not cash, which sometimes can cause
problems if the amount determined is incorrect.

Bank Leumi, an Israeli bank, has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department after disclosing that it had aided and assisted U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the IRS by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world. The agreement between the Bank Leumi Group and the Department of Justice marked the first time that an Israeli bank admitted to such criminal conduct which spanned over a 10-year period and included services and products designed to keep U.S. taxpayer accounts concealed at Bank Leumi locations all over the world. The Bank Leumi Group has agreed to pay the United States a total of $270 million, of which $157 million represents the penalty for taxpayer accounts held at the Leumi Private Bank in Switzerland. The penalty permits certain Swiss banks to avoid prosecution by making a full and complete disclosure of their U.S. taxpayer-held accounts and paying substantial penalties…

Bank Leumi, an Israeli bank, has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department after disclosing that it had aided and assisted U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the IRS by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world. The agreement between the Bank Leumi Group and the Department of Justice marked the first time that an Israeli bank admitted to such criminal conduct which spanned over a 10-year period and included services and products designed to keep U.S. taxpayer accounts concealed at Bank Leumi locations all over the world.
The Bank Leumi Group has agreed to pay the United States a total of $270 million, of which $157 million represents the penalty for taxpayer accounts held at the Leumi Private Bank in Switzerland. The penalty permits certain Swiss banks to avoid prosecution by making a full and complete disclosure of their U.S. taxpayer-held accounts and paying substantial penalti…